the states with the highest poverty rate in the united states, eight of the 10 are southern states, all but virginia in the south, all of the southern states are above the national average, some way above, with states like mississippi having over 30% living in poverty. 10 states with child poverty over 25%. nine of those are in the south. there are six million kid living in extreme poverty. that means income of less than half the federal poverty standard, and of those six million, 42% come from the south. there are 11 states with over 10% of their children living in extreme poverty, and 10 of those 11 are in the south. the pugh study, a new one, relatively new on economic mobility indicated that the lowest economic mobility in the united states is in louisiana, oklahoma, south carolina, alabama, florida, kentucky, mississippi, north carolina and texas. so this picture is pervasive. and in the south it's not getting better at the moment. the south was the only section of the country in the last census where these poverty figures got significantly worse. the next point being congenial to